Grrrrr.... (sports programming)

[Groundhog]

We get 4 NBA games per week here in Australia on our cable network, with 2 (sometimes 3) on ESPN, and 1 or 2 on FOXSPORTS. Can't really complain about the quantity as it's much improved over previous years, but as for the quality... Yuck.

Seriously, over the past 2 months I don't think we've gone a single week without seeing at least one Miami Heat game. Tonight I get to watch (presuming I decide to tune in) the long awaited Miami-Minnesota clash.

I have seen more Miami Heat games than any other team this season. They sprinkle in a fair amount of Cavs games (which is good), Spurs games (OK), and Pistons games (OK), as well, but no where near the quanitity of Heat games that they for some reason seem to think people would actually want to watch. I think there has been a grand total of 2 Celtics games, and none at all involving half of the teams in the league.

Anyway, not much you lot can do about it, I just wanted to vent after looking up who was playing tonight.

Gotta admit that I'm very happy with the NFL playoff coverage that we get though, if only you bloody Yanks weren't a day behind us, making Sunday games get played Monday mornings Sydney time.

[molson]

Aren't there Australian sports?

And I'm sure the Heat/Celtics issue is based on scheduling done before the season. I don't think networks have a whole lot of flexibility to change that stuff. It's not like the NFL where there's no local TV contracts. The local networks get everything the national broadcast doesn't pick up. So I'm guessing ESPN/TNT or whoever the hell carries NBA games these days isn't allowed to steal whatever games they want away from the local Boston networks, just because the Celtics are surpringly good.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by molson

Aren't there Australian sports?

Sure, if you like Rugby League or Aussie Soccer (I don't, and League is in the offseason right now even if I did). There is Australian basketball which I watch, but it's not even close to being a big time national sport and we only get 2 games a week on TV.

[oliegirl]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Sure, if you like Rugby League or Aussie Soccer (I don't, and League is in the offseason right now even if I did). There is Australian basketball which I watch, but it's not even close to being a big time national sport and we only get 2 games a week on TV.

No Australian Rules Football? My friend, "The Aussie" as I call him, said that is huge over there. He just moved back to AUS after being over here for business for a couple of years. I could barely understand him before, but now, sheesh - I didn't think it was possible but his accent is even thicker!

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by oliegirl

No Australian Rules Football? My friend, "The Aussie" as I call him, said that is huge over there. He just moved back to AUS after being over here for business for a couple of years. I could barely understand him before, but now, sheesh - I didn't think it was possible but his accent is even thicker!

Yeah, that's the one Aussie sport outside of basketball that I watch, but it's the offseason for that as well. Summer is basketball and soccer, winter is all the various football codes.

I find it interesting that you find a thick Aussie accent hard to understand! I'd always thought that our's was a relatively "neutral" accent. Only accents I struggle with are Irish, Scottish, and New Zealand, the first two in particular. Sometimes I can only pickup 1 or 2 words out of every 10 when speaking to a Scotsman.

[oliegirl]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Yeah, that's the one Aussie sport outside of basketball that I watch, but it's the offseason for that as well. Summer is basketball and soccer, winter is all the various football codes.

I find it interesting that you find a thick Aussie accent hard to understand! I'd always thought that our's was a relatively "neutral" accent. Only accents I struggle with are Irish, Scottish, and New Zealand, the first two in particular. Sometimes I can only pickup 1 or 2 words out of every 10 when speaking to a Scotsman.

I'm not sure if his accent was thicker than average, but when we first met, half of what he said I totally misunderstood and would just say "yeah, I got none of that". After a while, I could understand him most of the time, but if he started talking fast - forget it!

Scottish is very difficult to understand, for some reason it just seems that they pronounce letters totally different than anyone else. It's cool sounding though.

[lynchjm24]

You want to watch the NBA?